From Airhead To Twinkle Toes
by Ixidor Alucard
Summary: Drabble series. Aang and Avin are best friends, with a twist: They are always competing for Toph's attention. But who does she really like? We may never know, but it won't stop Avin and Aang from trying to find out! Mainly Taang, sometimes TophxOC
1. Race!

"Hey, Aang," Avin shouted, running back towards the campsite, "I got a proposition for you!"

"Since you're already running, I'm guessing it involves a race?" Aang shouted back, as he ran after his friend.

"Yeah, check it out," Avin said as the Avatar caught up to him, "First one back to the campsite gets to spend the day with Toph, get it?"

"Why would I take that? What do I get from it?" Aang asked nervously, "Me and Toph are just friends."

"Hahahaha," Avin grinned at Aang and nudged him in the arm, "Come on, man, I've totally seen you watching me every time I talk to Toph."

"Get _rejected _by Toph, more like," Aang muttered.

"She'll warm up to me eventually! In any case, I can totally tell you have a thing for Toph…and," Avin nudged him again, "I'm pretty sure she feels the same way…or WOULD, if she wasn't totally into me."

"You're delusional," Aang rolled his eyes, "But okay, first one to the campsite gets to spend the day with Toph."

"Sweet. By the way, the race started twenty seconds ago!" Avin shouted as he started sprinting.

"Hey! No fair!" Aang shouted, as he ran after Avin, "That's cheating!"

"All's fair in love and bending, Aang!" Avin shouted, as he barreled into the campsite, seconds before Aang.

"Winner: Avin!!" Avin yelled, pumping a fist into the air, as Aang huffed and puffed behind him.

"No…fair…"

"What are you two up to now?" Toph asked, eating some peanuts.

"What the…?! Hey, Toph, those are mine!" Aang said.

"Sweet, let me get some too, Toph," Avin exclaimed, sitting down next to the earthbender as she passed him some.

_Haha! Better luck next time, buddy…_Avin thought to himself as Aang walked over to the other side of the campsite.

"Grr…" Aang mumbled under his breath as he watched Avin and Toph talking from across the clearing. Whatever Avin was saying, it was making her laugh a lot, and every time she did it sent a swooping feeling in Aang's stomach.

"Hey, Aang…" Katara greeted her friend, sitting down next to him, "Why aren't you with Zuko? Shouldn't you be training?"

"I already trained," Aang said, gaze never leaving Avin and Toph.

Katara followed Aang's gaze, and asked, "What are we staring at?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing!" Aang replied, coming out of his reverie, "Just…Avin and Toph sure became friends fast, huh?"

"I guess," Katara muttered, "But I don't trust him, or his intentions. They're definitely looking like more than friends to me…" Suddenly, realization hit Katara, and she looked over at Aang.

"Aang, you're not…jealous, are you?"

"What? No way!" Aang said, laughing nervously, "Of course not!"

"Really?" Katara asked skeptically, "Because it seems like…"

"Katara, please," Aang said, grinning widely, "The monks always taught me to never feel things like envy or lust, so I couldn't possibly be jealous of Avin."

Katara raised an eyebrow, but decided not to press the issue.

"Well, I'm going to go get some waterbending training in," she said, stretching her arms, "You want to come?"

"No thanks," Aang said, going back to his watchful vigil.

"Okay…" Katara waved a hand and left the clearing.

Aang put a hand to his head.

_I hate when Avin gets the jump on me…_


	2. Valentine's Day

**A/N: I know it's late, but I couldn't resist writing about Valentine's Day. Set in the modern day. For all modern day fics let's say they're in high school, Toph is not blind, and none of them can bend. Specifics will be set to each chapter. Enjoy!**

**Valentine's Day**

"I did it, man," Avin said, shaking Sokka, "I came up with the greatest Valentine's Day plan ever."

"Get off me-"

"Listen, okay? You know how the band kids were selling valentine-o-grams or whatever?" Avin said.

"The two dollar things that give the person of your choice a card, a balloon, and candy?" Sokka asked.

"What, are you advertising for them or something?" Avin muttered, a bit taken aback.

"Well, Katara had me help out with selling them," Sokka admitted.

"Whipped!" Avin grinned, punching Sokka in the arm, "Anyways, I got Toph one. But, here's the twist: I gave it to her anonymously."

"Why would you do that?" Sokka scratched his head, confused.

"Well, because!" Avin waved his hands around, "Isn't it obvious?? Girls love that secret admirer stuff. It makes the admirer seem aloof, mysterious. Girls love that. Once Toph gets that valentine-o-gram, she'll love me for sure!"

"Really? Well, Avin," Sokka replied, "Tell me, how's Toph gonna know it's from you?"

"She WON'T!" Avin shouted excitedly, "That's the beauty of it! She'll love the mystery, the suspense-"

"You don't get me," Sokka slapped a hand to his forehead, "If YOU send it to HER anonymously, how is she going to know YOU are the one who sent it to her? HOW is she going to know you're her secret, mysterious admirer?"

"Simple! I…" Avin trailed off, as he clutched his head in shock, "Oh, no!!!"

"Goofball," Sokka exclaimed, walking off to class.

"No, no, no!" Avin continued, walking down the hall, "It was such a great plan! I mean, it's so perfect! But why…?"

Suddenly, the sophomore snapped his fingers, and said, "I have to find my valentine-o-gram, and sign it myself, before it's delivered!"

Avin ran into the bandroom, which was filled with balloons, cards, and candy. Band kids ran around, grabbing balloons and running off to deliver them.

"Okay, let's see…" Avin walked from balloon to balloon, looking for the one that had his card, "Toph Beifong…Toph Beifong…"

_Tsk, man, it's not here…and searching for it will take forever…_

"Hey, come on, guys!" Katara shouted, holding a bunch of balloons, "I don't wanna go alone!"

"Bet you could get Zuko to go with you, Katara!" A kid shouted as his group went off to deliver some more balloons and candy.

"Hey, Katara…" Avin waved at his friend, "I guess…if you want someone to go with you, I'll go…"

"Really? Thanks, Avin!" Katara smiled as she and Avin walked out of the bandroom and down the hallway, "I really didn't want to go deliver all these alone."

"Happy to help," Avin muttered.

"Hey, did you get a pass from Ms. Kyoshi? We were supposed to so we wouldn't get in trouble."

"Huh? Oh, yeah…"_Well, not really. I hadn't planned on helping deliver these in the first place, but since I always skip Kyoshi's class anyway…_

"Okay, Room 335," Katara handed all but one balloon to Avin, and walked in.

"Hi, is Haru here?" Avin heard Katara say from inside the classroom.

Avin peeked through the window and saw Katara give a valentine-o-gram to a light brown-skinned boy, who grinned sheepishly as the guys in the class laughed and the girls in the class went "aww."

"I couldn't bring myself to do that," Avin laughed as Katara walked out, "I hate having to deal with…you know, people."

"Haha! You seem to get along well with people you know, though," Katara replied, taking a few balloons from Avin.

"Only because they know me," Avin refuted.

"Oh, here's another one," Katara opened the door to a classroom with candy and a balloon, and walked in.

Avin leaned against the wall, wondering if Toph had gotten his gift by now. She was probably wondering who had sent it. Knowing his luck, Avin guessed someone like Aang or Zuko would get the credit for it before Avin could set the record straight.

_Well, speak of the devil…_Avin thought as Zuko and Mai walked towards him, _Lucky for me it looks like he doesn't have his mind set on Toph. Small favors, I guess._

"Hey," Zuko waved at Avin, who waved back, while Mai only nodded.

"So what possessed the great Zuko to actually help out the band kids deliver stuff?" Avin asked him. Katara came out of the classroom, blushing. On seeing them she greeted Zuko and Mai, though with (what Avin thought was) a hint of coldness.

"Don't you remember? Mai plays flute in the band," Zuko answered, "She was sucked into helping deliver valentine's stuff today, and she sucked me into helping her."

"Ah," Avin said, as the balloons Zuko was carrying bobbed through the air and hit Avin lightly, "Same here. Well, kinda."

Avin pushed past the balloons, and noticed a familiar handwriting.

"H-hey…" Avin read the card attached to the balloon, "This is it! This is my valentine-o-gram?"

"It is…?" Katara exclaimed, moving to look at it, "Who's it to…?"

"Never mind that!" Avin grabbed his present, "I have to write my name on the card, okay?"

"You didn't write it before?" Zuko asked, smiling.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time!" Avin shouted back, as Katara giggled.

"Damn, I don't have a pen on me…any of you?"

Katara, Zuko and Mai shook their heads, and Avin groaned.

"I need a pen!!" Avin ran down the hallway, and Katara chased after him.

"Avin, if you're not going to help at least give me back the other balloons!" She shouted.

Avin rounded a corner and almost tripped over a sitting Aang.

"What the…? Hey, man," Avin greeted Aang, "What are you doing here?"

Katara caught up to Avin as Aang shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing," he replied quietly.

"Well, you got a pen?" Avin asked, and Aang nodded. He went through his bag and tossed Avin a black pen.

"Avin, give me a minute with Aang?" Katara asked.

"No problem," Avin said as he rounded the corner, putting his card to the wall.

_All right! I'm four letters away from winning Toph's heart. Four letters away…_

He put the pen to the card as Katara asked Aang, "What's going on?"

Avin stopped to hear, as Aang sniffled. "I…I didn't get her anything for Valentine's Day, Katara."

"What?" Katara asked, "Why didn't you buy her a valentine-o-gram or something-"

"Because I don't have the money, Katara!" Aang replied sharply, "The one time of year I feel confident enough to tell her how I feel and I couldn't do anything special for her."

Avin suddenly felt a weird feeling, as though he was intruding on something private, that he shouldn't be hearing. Still…

"I like her so much, Katara. And, maybe she feels the same way, you know? But I don't know. Valentine's Day is the one day I feel I can tell her my feelings, and everything's going to be okay."

"You can tell her anyway," Katara reasoned, "If she likes you she'll like you anyway, present or no present."

Aang sniffed and said, "I know. But, I really wanted to do something special for her. She deserves that. When I tell her, I want to make it special."

Avin's hand quivered as he held the pen, and wrote four letters.

_Four letters away…_

**Courtyard**

Kids filed out of the buildings as the bell rang.

Aang slung his bag over his shoulder, and started walking towards the exit.

"Hey, Aang!"

Aang turned around, only to be glomped by Toph.

"What the-? Toph, wha…?" Aang stuttered, confused.

"Stop playing innocent, Twinkle Toes," Toph grinned, "I got your present. And it was the greatest present I've ever gotten." She put her head in his chest and said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome…" Aang said, still confused, but not at all unhappy with the arrangements.

Aang regained his bearings and asked shyly, "Uh, Toph…if you're not doing anything, would you like to go out tonight…?"

"Of course," Toph replied, "I thought you'd never ask, Twinkle Toes."

Aang grinned as he hugged Toph. "I'm glad I did."

From across the courtyard, Avin smiled faintly as he watched Toph and Aang walk away, arm in arm.

_Toph, _

_You don't know how much you mean to me. You're beautiful, funny, tough…and I dream of the day we can be together. _

_-Aang_

_Four letters. Should have been mine, but I guess…I guess you win this time. Well, enjoy it, 'Twinkle Toes', _Avin thought to himself.

Avin grabbed his backpack, his history book, and his trombone case, and began the long walk home.

_After all, there's always next year._

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**A/N: He may never admit it, but Aang really is Avin's best friend. Doesn't mean Avin will cut him any slack NEXT TIME, though. Hope you enjoyed it!**_  
_


	3. Content

**A/N: Sorry it's taken so long...I really want to update some more of my stories, and hopefully I'll get to it soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Avin sighed as he looked at the clouds.

"That cloud looks like Toph…" Avin muttered, pointing at the cloud, "That cloud looks like Toph…and that cloud-"

"Looks like Toph?" Katara asked, sitting down on the grass next to Avin.

"No, that one looks like a boulder. Are you blind, woman?"

"You wish I was," Katara grinned.

"Meh, not today," Avin said, "I got shot down."

"Again?" Katara said incredulously.

"Again."

"Seriously!" Katara laughed.

"Yeah, go ahead," Avin said, putting his hands beneath his head, "Laugh at my expense."

"I'm sorry, Avin," Katara said, stifling another laugh, "But you always do this to yourself. You always go through the trouble of finding the most beautiful flower or the shiniest rock you can find, and for what?"

"For Toph to reject me again, obviously." Avin muttered.

"Avin, come on," the airbender's friend shoved Avin playfully, "Cheer up. Who knows? Someday Toph might return your feelings."

"Nah. I think I'm too psychotic for something like that to happen." Avin said.

"You have a point there." Katara conceded sarcastically.

"Besides, Toph seems happy, and that makes me feel a bit better."

"She does? I haven't seen her today," Katara said, looking around, "What makes you say that?"

Avin grinned. "Just a hunch."

**Somewhere in the Fire Nation**

"You want some more Fire Flakes, Toph?"

"Thanks, Aang," Toph said, taking some from his hand, "And I gotta say, today was actually fun. You sure know how to show a girl a good time."

"I try," Aang grinned, as the two kept walking down the busy street, "Where do you want to go next?"


	4. Copy That

**A/N: Modern-Day.  
**

Avin grinned. Today had been a good day...

He had talked to Toph on the phone the day before. Asked her about the homework for AP Lit, an exam they had to print out... because he couldn't get the web page to come up.

"Was she having the same problem too?" he had asked her.

"Haven't tried it," she had replied, "But if I find it I'll make you a copy."

"Thanks. See you tomorrow," Avin had said.

"Bye."

The next day, Avin was freaking out. He had finally figured out how to get the web page up, and printed out his AP Exam.

But what if Toph hadn't? Should he have made her a copy? What an idiot I am, Avin told himself.

So he begged Sokka for some money, and ran off to the library (he had to actually do his work in Spanish to get a pass from the teacher.) He went and to his horror saw that all the computers were being used. Was _everyone_ in the school a lazy procrastinating bum? He saw Aang working on something, and smiled.

"Sorry, Aang, old buddy," Avin said, kicking Aang off the computer, "But I need to use this."

"Avin, what the- hey, I was kind of working," Aang said sternly, though not angrily.

"Sorry, Aang. I really need to print this out for this girl I like."

He found the web page and printed another copy out (he didn't get to eat lunch, but better safe than sorry, he thought.)

"Oh, okay," Aang replied, "If that's it then- hey! This girl wouldn't happen to be Toph, would it?"

"It would!" Avin laughed as he ran out of the library, leaving a fuming Aang behind.

So Avin walked into class, and Toph soon came in. After a short conversation Mr. Pan Dao asked everyone to put their exams on the podium.

"Did you manage to get the exam?" Avin asked casually.

"Nope," Toph replied.

So Avin went into his binder and pulled out the extra copy. "Ta-da!" Avin muttered happily, and gave her the copy.

"Thanks man! You're the best!" Toph exclaimed, smiling at him.

He felt like he was on top of the world, like he could move mountains, because of that smile. He looked over at the seat next to him, where he saw a jealous Aang glaring daggers at him.

Yep, it had definitely been a good day.


	5. Career Day Part I

**A/N: Modern-Day. Enjoy!**

It was Career Day at school, and for Aang, that meant confusion all around. Everyone had dressed up for their presentation on what they wanted to be when they grew up…For example, Suki had dressed up as a soldier in the Army. The problem with this was Sokka had dressed up as a soldier in the Navy and now the two were in an argument over which branch was better.

Aang, however, had no idea what he wanted to do. So he had come to school in regular clothes, but with a tie. That way he could pass for any number of things…plainclothes cop, dry cleaner guy, a lazy business man…

"Whoah!" Avin stumbled into class, and the rest of the class laughed. Avin was dressed in a pilot's uniform, but the clothes looked a bit big for him, to say the least. "Sorry I'm late, Ms. Kyoshi," Avin muttered sheepishly, "I overslept."

"You always do, Avin," Kyoshi rolled her eyes, "Just go sit down. We're about to start with presentations.

Avin took his seat behind Toph, who was dressed in a green costume. "Nice entrance, Airhead," Toph smiled, "But you lose points for stupidity. What possessed you to wear those duds?"

Avin waved his hands, causing the jacket sleeves to flop around haphazardly. "Show some respect, woman! This was my grandpa's, he fought with it during the war."

Avin eyed Toph's outfit, and asked, "What are you supposed to be, Toph?"

"What does it look like?" Toph sighed, as though it were obvious, "I'm a wrestler."

"You're going to be a wrestler?" Aang asked curiously.

"Yep! I even got a stage name. What do you think of…'The Blind Bandit'?"

"It's alright," Avin shrugged.

"I think it sounds really cool, Toph," Aang exclaimed.

"Psh, kiss-up…" Avin muttered, putting his legs up on the desk.

"Thanks! What do you want to be when you grow up, Aang?"

"Well…I don't really know," Aang answered, "I mean… I want to help people, so I've thought about being a policeman, maybe."

"Well, I know what I'm going to be," Avin pointed at himself, grinning, "I'm going to be the greatest pilot that ever lived!"

"If you don't decide to become a trombone player, that is," Toph quipped. Aang laughed at the joke.

"Hey! There is nothing wrong with playing the trombone! Learn to appreciate music!" Avin said, holding his trombone case defensively. "It's okay, baby, the nasty girl didn't mean it." He said softly to his trombone case.

"Uh…you talk to your trombone?" Katara said from her seat next to Avin. She was dressed in a bathing suit.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Avin asked, confused, "What are you supposed to be, anyway?"

"I'm going to be a professional swimmer, of course," Katara rolled her eyes at Avin, who turned around to face the board.

"All right, class, quiet down," Ms. Kyoshi exclaimed, "And get ready to present what you've researched. This will be for a grade."

"Uhh...researched?" Aang asked quietly. Ms. Kyoshi hated when anyone talked in her class. So they had to be careful not to get caught.

"Oh, that's right, you were out last class," Avin explained, "Well, Kyoshi told us in addition to our costumes, we were going to have to research our job, and present for one minute about it."

"That's just great! I haven't done anything!" Aang whispered angrily to Avin, "You guys didn't think to tell me this?"

Avin and Toph looked at each other, and shrugged. Aang slumped back into his seat, irritated.

_I guess I'll have to wing it and see what happens..._


	6. Book

**A/N: Whoo! I wrote this up one day and I liked it enough to finish. Hopefully I'll be able to update this story more often. That includes Career Day part II, which I have to finish. In any case, enjoy!  
**

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"I can't find it!!" Avin yelled, racing through the hallways. His shoes squeaked loudly, tracking mud across the clean white hall.

Aang and a slightly annoyed Toph followed close behind.

"Avin, can you calm down and tell us what you lost?" Aang asked, catching his breath. Avin had stopped in front of a classroom and was peering through the small window anxiously.

"It's my psych book," Avin muttered, "I know I had it last period. I think I left it in this classroom…" he tried the handle, but the door was locked.

"Look, Airhead, everyone's gone home already. It's spring break!" Toph exclaimed, exasperated. "Can't you worry about it next week?"

"I didn't ask you two to come," Avin snapped, taking a few steps back and rubbing his forehead.

"Well, fine," Toph replied, turning on her heel and walking down the hall. "Twinkle Toes, are you coming?"

Aang started to follow Toph, but stopped. He looked back at Avin's dejected form, and ran over to him.

"Avin, come on," Aang said, "Things will turn out okay."

"Will they?" Avin asked, more to himself than to Aang.

"Come on," Aang said, grasping his friend's shoulder. "We'll go to Toph's house today. We'll play some video games and eat pizza. It'll be fun."

"Wait, wha-" Toph started, and Aang quickly pulled her aside.

"Its okay, isn't it?" Aang asked, "I feel bad."

"Yeah, but he's being a total-"

"And he might have made it here in time to catch the teacher, if he hadn't been helping you clean up that mess you made in class," Aang cut in. "Come on, Toph."

Toph scowled. "I hate it when you're right Twinkle Toes…" She looked over at Avin. "Come on, Airhead. We'll all go to my place."

Avin thought for a second, then looked up and smiled.

**Toph's House, later**

"Ha! Top Performer!" Avin laughed, swinging the mike back and forth.

"By one percent!" Aang groaned, twirling his drumsticks in his hands.

"You're both such dorks," Toph smirked, "I'm just glad you two managed to complete the song this time."

"I can't sing songs I've never heard…" Avin muttered, while Aang laughed.

"Anyways, what do you want to play next?" Toph asked, cycling through the list of songs.

Avin looked at his cell phone. "Actually, it's getting late. I better head home."

"Alright," Aang said, "See you around."

Toph walked with Avin to the door. "So, Airhead, did you have fun?"

Avin grinned as he walked out the door. He looked back at her. "I did. Thanks Toph. I needed it."

She saw the sincerity in his eyes, and smiled back.

Hours later, after Aang had left, Toph lay in bed. She thought about the day's events. She had seen something in Avin she hadn't before. Because he had come over and spent time with her and Aang. And that happened because he had lost his book.

His psych book?

Toph put a hand to her forehead, confused. She copied all her homework from Aang or Avin.

That's how she knew that Avin didn't take psychology.

**Later that night**

"Yes, Professor, I know," Avin said, "My mother apologizes, but she's been very sick…yes, she's been working hard on her psychology paper. I'll make sure to deliver it to you as soon as she's done."

Avin hung up the phone, and sighed. He sat down and started up his computer.

Without the book, he had a lot of work to do.


End file.
